Browse by

How To Setup And Use AME For Purchase Requisition Approvals

Purchase Requisitions can be routed for approval using the AME Approval Management Engine. This whitepaper describes how to setup AME for use with requisition approvals, and shows how a requisition approval list is built based on the AME setup. Approvers in the AME based approver list are assigned to the requisition based on the AME rules setup for the Purchase Requisition Approval transaction. Similar setup can be done for Requester Change Order Approval and for Internal Requisition Approval, although those are not specifically covered in this whitepaper. The screenshots provided are based on 11i.AME.B, and some of the navigation details are specific to 11i.AME.B. However, most of the details provided are applicable to 11i.AME.A and higher including R12.

Assign AME Roles and Responsibilities.
AME responsibilities in 11i.AME.A are assigned directly to the users. However, In R12 or 11i.AME.B and higher, AME responsibilities are assigned indirectly to users through roles. The roles are assigned to the users by the SYSADMIN user using the User Management responsibility. Once the roles are assigned, the AME responsibilities are automatically available to the users without specifically assigning the AME responsibilities to the users. Here are steps to assign the roles: 1. Login as System Administrator user

5. In the results table, click on update icon (shown in screenshot above)

user details can be seen along with a list of roles available to user
Click on "Assign Roles" (shown in screenshot above) 7.
.6. Search for Approval% and Select roles from the resulting LOV. Choose the roles that are applicable (proper authority) for the user. In the update user page. and click the Select button.

Reference <<Note 413300.
.1>> Oracle Approvals Management Not Enabled? What Does It Take To Enable It?
Grant Transaction Type Access to Users
AME restricts access to transaction types using Data Security. Specify justification and relevant dates for the newly assigned roles. Set up user access as follows: 1. Navigate to the Personal Home Page.8. and click Apply to assign the roles to the user. Grant users access to the transaction types using the Grants page.

This whitepaper
. and Requester Change Order Approval. Internal Requisition Approval. review the setups and then Finish the process.
Review and Modify AME Setup
AME is designed to provide approval logic for many transaction types. Transaction types used for Purchase Requisitions include the following: Purchase Requisition Approval.5. Click Next. Click Next to define the object parameters and Select Set · Set = AME Calling Applications
7. Click Next and select the Object Data Context · Data Context Type = All Rows
6.

many of the concepts are applicable to the other two requisition transaction types as well. Approver Groups) and rules. Use the links on the right in the Approval Process Setup region to set the components (Attributes. Likewise. however. 1. Action Types. or to use the test workbench in AME. Navigate to the Approvals Management Business Analyst. some examples and comments in this paper are written in iProcurement context. Choose the Business Analyst Dashboard menu from the responsibility (see image above) 3. Conditions. Standard responsibility
2. Use the Transaction Type LOV to search and select the transaction type = Purchase Requisition Approval
4.focuses on Purchase Requisition Approval. but the same AME concepts apply to core apps requisitions also.
.

4. and Support for FYI Notifications. Reference <<Note 293315. In addition.5.1>> Release Content Documents for EBusiness Suite R12 .provides a link to the Procurement Family RCD which clarifies (Section 3. Every action belongs to an action type. Parallel Approvals. Action types are enabled or disabled for a particular transaction type. An action type is a collection of actions having similar functionality. <<Note 404152.Action Types
1.1>> 11.
. select the Action Types link
3.for a list of action types allowed for requisition transactions in AME. The Action Types page shows the action types that are currently enabled for the transaction type (Purchase Requisition Approval). AME will give an error if the user tries to add a nonrelevant action type for the selected transaction type. 2. AME may give an error when attempting to enable an action type for a transaction if the transaction is not designed to allow that action type.10 FAQ for Approvals Management (AME) Integration For iProcurement and Purchasing . Select the Use Existing Action Type button to see other pre-defined action types available in AME. To disable or enable action types for the transaction. Use the Previous and Next links to scroll through the list of enabled action types.14) that requisition approval with Oracle Approvals Management (AME) in R12 allows use of Position Hierarchy based Approvals.2. Some of these may or may not be applicable to the currently select transaction type.

to assign a Level (Approval Authority) to a Job.
Query up the Job and enter the appropriate Job Level in the Approval Authority field. relative job level / chains of authority based on relative job level
.4. Navigate to HR responsibility -> Work Structures -> Job -> Description . absolute job level / chains of authority based on absolute job level 2. In AME. manager then final approver / chain of authority includes requestor's manager and then the final approver 4. final approver only / chains of authority containing only the final job-level approver 3. 5. select any or all of the following Action Types for JOB BASED approvals if applicable for your business requirements: 1.

and REQUISITION_TOTAL as well as other attributes. In AME. Attributes 1. AME is seeded with attributes relevant to the transaction type. hr position level / chains of authority based on HR positions 2. supervisory level / chains of authority based on number of supervisory levels 6. pre-chain-of-authority approvals / group approvals before the chain of authority 3. ITEM_NUMBER. post-chain-of-authority approvals / group approvals after the chain of authority 2. Select the Attributes link to view or add attributes for the selected transaction type
3. these values are retrieved for
. 2. In AME. Some of the attributes relevant to Purchase Requisition Approval include ITEM_CATEGORY. hr position / chains of authority based on a particular HR position 2. and the user can create new attributes in AME for use in AME rules. Attribute values are retrieved from the Oracle EBusiness Suite Applications database or derived from values in the database. select any or all of the following Action types for APPROVER GROUP approvals if applicable for your business requirements: 1. approval-group chain of authority / chain of authority includes an approval group 7. When AME approvals is enabled for purchase requisitions. Use the Previous and Next links to scroll through the existing attributes. Attributes are the base element for an AME Rule.5. select any of all of the following Action types for POSITION BASED approvals (Only in R12 and higher) if applicable for your business requirements 1.

4.the relevant requisition while navigating through iProcurement checkout or core apps requisition create. a customized attribute can be created. DAVE_CATEGORY_SEGMENT is an example of this. this customized AME attribute captures only SEGMENT1 of the flexfield. This allows the users to setup conditions and rules that are dependent on a certain value in SEGMENT1 of the ITEM Category used on the requisition. In addition to the seeded attributes.segment1 rather than mck. NOTE: The new attribute DAVE_CATEGORY_SEGMENT1 uses the same sql query as the seeded ITEM_CATEGORY AME attribute. This attribute uses a query to capture SEGMENT1 of the Item Category flexfield.concatenated_segments. except it selects mck. The Item Category flexfield may be setup to use one or more segments.
. and AME uses this information to determine the appropriate AME rule(s) to use.

. the user can define a condition $0 USD <= requisition total < $1000 USD. Conditions 1. For example. Since REQUISITION_TOTAL is a seeded attribute. The rule cannot refer to this condition until it is defined in AME Conditions for the Purchase Requisition Approval transaction type. AME rules refer to these conditions to determine if a particular rule is applicable for the specific document (requisition) being approved. an AME rule can be setup to require certain approvers if $0 USD <= requisition total < $1000 USD.3. Conditions identify values and value ranges for some or all of the attributes available. and then use this condition in a rule to require certain approvers for the requisition.

. To define the new condition.
Selecting the Conditions link will display the existing conditions defined for the transaction type. so the attribute must be selected before the value(s) can be defined. and also allow the user to create new conditions for the transaction. specify whether the condition is ordinary.2. The condition will specify a value or range of values for the attribute. or an exception condition (which can only be used in an exception rule – see the online Help for details). Click the Create button to create a new condition 4. Use the Attribute LOV to choose the attribute on which the condition is based.
3. Select the Conditions link from the AME Business Analyst Dashboard after specifying the Purchase Requisition Approval transaction type.

and Approver Group basis. Jobs defined in HR setup. Define the allowed value or value range for the selected attribute.5. The rules defined for the transaction can be based on Approver Groups. or to specify a dynamic sql query for additional approvers.
Approver Groups Approver Groups are optional. Setup Approver Groups if additional approvers are required for particular conditions. Position.
. or Positions defined in HR setup (only in R12). Click Apply to complete the condition definition. (See the Rules details later in this paper for more information about the rules) Select the Approver Groups link from the AME Business Analyst Dashboard. the rules may also use a combination of Job.

5. R12 does allow other voting regimes that use parallel routing.
.10 and 11. Give a name and description to the approval group. Choose a voting regime – only Serial is supported for Purchase Requisition Approval in 11. Specify an order number (order number of this approver group relative to other approver groups).9. Choose Static if approvers will be selected when defining the approval group.
When creating the approval group specify all the mandatory values. Click Apply to save the approver group
The approval group members can be added as additional approvers to the normal chain of command approvers generated by AME.5. Click the Add Another Row button to add approvers to the approval group now. or Click the Create button to create a new approver group. or choose Dynamic if a sql query is used to dynamically find the approvers for this approver group when the requisition approval transaction is being processed. Rules Define rules to specify approvers that should be included in the approval list under specific conditions for the requisition approval transaction.View and edit existing approver groups.

(Optionally.Select the Rules link from the AME Dashboard after selecting the transaction type – Purchase Requisition Approval
Review the list of existing rules already defined for the transaction
Select the Create button to create a new rule for the transaction. Step 1 of 4: Specify a name for the new rule and choose the rule type and effective dates. if there already exists a similar rule choose the Duplicate icon or the Use Existing Rule button).
.

Use the Action Types feature to add or remove action types for the transaction) Step 2 of 4: Specify one or more conditions that activate the rule. The most common types are List Creation. Pre List Approver Group and Post List Approver Group. The Conditions are defined in the AME Setup. The actions are related to Jobs. Positions (in R12). and they may be seeded conditions or user defined conditions. The list of actions available is dependent on the Action Type selected. (NOTE: Some rule types may not be available if the corresponding action types have not been assigned to the transaction – Purchase Requisition Approval. or Approver Groups. (Action Types are discussed previously in this whitepaper)
.Rule types are explained in the AME online help pages along with examples.
Step 3 of 4: Choose the Action Type and then choose a specific action.

Step 4 of 4: Review the rule details and click Finish to complete the rule setup. Specific Requisition test
. Use the Test Workbench to determine which AME Rule(s) apply to a specific requisition. or to determine which AME Rule(s) apply for an adhoc combination of values specified at the time of the test. Test Workbench 6. Select the Test Workbench link from the AME Dashboard
1. or click Back to make changes.

Click the Run Real Transaction Test button. Adhoc test 1.g.
2. 3. Click the Create button on the Test Workbench page
2. Adjust the rules setup to cause rules to be called differently based on the business requirements. 2. Specify the value of REQUISITION_HEADER_ID from PO_REQUISITION_HEADERS_ALL as the Transaction Id value. Specify Name and Description for the test. and specify values for pertinent attributes (e. Click Go to see the AME rules that apply to the requisition. Requisition Total = $100 USD)
.1.

3. and the resulting AME approval list that will be built based on the conditions specified for the attributes.
Enable AME for Requisition Approval
1. Setup / Purchasing / Document Types 3. Select Purchase Requisition (or Internal Requisition) as the document type 4. Navigate to Purchasing responsibility 2. Click the Run Test Case button to see the applicable AME rules. Specify Approval Transaction Type = PURCHASE_REQ to enable AME approvals for Purchase Requisitions in the current operating unit
.

Click the Setup Report link in the Quick Links section of the Dashboard
2. Select the appropriate transaction type (Example: Purchase Requisition Approval) and click Go.Test the Functionality
1. Create a requisition in Core Apps Purchasing or iProcurement and verify that the Approval List is built per the AME rules based on the conditions present on the requisition attributes.
.
View the AME Setup
1.

or compare the AME setup to the business requirements.)
4. Click the Printable Page button to view the complete setup for the selected transaction type (Attributes.3. Compare the AME setup to the requisition attributes and approval list generated for a specific requisition.
. NOTE: This document is not considered formal documentation of the product. Approval Groups. and etc. Rules. Conditions. but is a useful tool for applying the functionality described.